Arne Slot: Liverpool boss insists he feels 'complete support' from the club and fanbase despite pressure mounting

Arne Slot insists he feels "complete support" from both the club and fanbase despite pressure mounting on the Liverpool head coach.

Liverpool have lost three straight games, including the 2-0 loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final and an emphatic 4-0 defeat to Manchester City in the FA Cup, to compound a dismal run of just two wins in their last eight fixtures.

Pressure has now been ramped up on Slot ahead of facing Fulham, live on Saturday Night Football, but the Liverpool boss has reiterated he feels nothing but support from the club's hierarchy and supporters.

"I am repeating myself a lot but I have said many times, I feel a lot of support," Slot said in his press conference ahead of facing Fulham.

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"Not only from the owners, Richard [Hughes] and Michael [Edwards], but as weird as it sounds, I feel the support of the fans.

"When we were out in Paris immediately after a 4-0 loss [to Man City] and the fans were singing, ' We love you, Liverpool'.

"It is fair to say we were outplayed but we went to the away end and they were still singing and clapping for us. That support, we have felt constantly.

"The club knows what period of time we are in. In the meantime, I feel complete support."

Slot on the pressure to secure Champions League football

Liverpool are fifth in the Premier League, which would be enough to secure Champions League football next season after English clubs were handed an extra spot in Europe's elite competition, but are just one point ahead of Chelsea in sixth.

Brentford and Merseyside rivals Everton trail by three points in seventh and eighth, respectively.

When quizzed on the pressure to secure a spot in the top five in the league, after not winning in the top-flight since February 28, Slot added: "We faced the champions of Europe and experienced, on that evening, not at the level we want to be.

"The good thing is that in four or five days, we have another chance to show we can be much more competitive than we were.

"But it also tells us that if we want to keep improving, we have to keep playing at that level and next season that means Champions League football.

"If you experience that, you want to be involved in that next season to show we can do even better. We want to have that chance next season, so we have to perform in the league as well.

"That will be interesting. Yesterday was a recovery day. Not all of our players are able and capable of playing three days later in another intense game.

"Let's see what the line-up brings this time."

A decisive nine days for Liverpool

Sky Sports News' Vinny O'Connor:

"The club knows in which period of time we are in. And in the meantime, I feel complete support."

A telling response from Arne Slot ahead of a defining week in what's become a period of transition.

There's no escaping that feeling as, again, it has been underlined by the impending departures of first Mohamed Salah and now Andy Robertson.

The fact that Slot is 'fully involved' in player recruitment for the summer suggests he won't be joining them and perhaps is another indication of support from above, given the scrutiny he's been under regarding his long-term future.

But what will he and the 'transfer committee' be planning for? Champions League next season? The next nine days will go a long way to deciding.

"We've given ourselves not the best situation to be in," was the admission from Slot.

"Paris kept us alive, so we're still in that tie. And there are two massive games in the league coming up as well, and afterwards four more. Hopefully, a few more in the Champions League as well."

Not all Liverpool's failings are down to the head coach. By his own admission, mistakes have been made; at the same time, the shortcomings in squad depth have been brutally exposed on more than one occasion.

But his words are defiant, a mantra of where there's life, there's hope. The question is, can he and his players use that mindset to rescue their season?

Alisson ruled out but Isak return 'vital' for Liverpool

Slot outlined that despite wanting to right the wrongs of Wednesday's performance in Paris in the second leg on April 14, full focus lies on Saturday's game against Fulham.

Goalkeeper Alisson Becker will not be in the match-day squad for that fixture as he continues to recover from a muscle injury that has sidelined him for the last three games.

The Reds suffered defeats in all of those fixtures and conceded eight goals, scoring once.

"We don't get a player back yet but Alisson is working hard to find his way back in the squad. He will not be back in the squad," Slot continued.

However, in a welcome boost for the Reds as they teeter on the edge of dropping out of the top five, club-record signing Alexander Isak made his return from injury against Paris Saint-Germain in a 13-minute cameo off the bench.

Isak has only managed 16 appearances since his £125m switch from Newcastle, having had to play catch-up in terms of fitness and deal with some minor injuries before suffering a significant issue in December.

Isak was hurt in a tackle by Micky van de Ven when scoring the opening goal in a 2-1 win against Tottenham, leading to surgery on an ankle injury, which included a fibula fracture.

"Alex [Isak] is available for us again is vital for us, of course. It was hard for us to convert chances to goals and he has been a goalscorer his whole life," Slot continued.

"To have him back is really nice. It was only 15 minutes but it's good to have him back and hopefully we can grow his minutes.

"Last time, it took him a while but we are hoping after the great rehab period that we can bring him faster to the level."

Slot also confirmed he was "worried" about the fitness of both Jeremie Frimpong and Joe Gomez but did not confirm whether they would be able to feature against Fulham.

(c) Sky Sports 2026: Arne Slot: Liverpool boss insists he feels 'complete support' from the club and fanbase despite pressure mounting